Ole Tardeada 2011 was a success!

Summertime Stages Set

Dear Supporters,

The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts exists to inspire and nurture a lifelong love of the Hispanic performing arts in the communities of Los Angeles and promote education and communication through our programs. The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts (BFA) is the only full time professional bilingual theater on the West Coast of the United States. BFA’s mission is to serve communities by presenting classic Spanish language drama and contemporary plays, in order to bring awareness of Hispanic culture.  BFA also provides educational resources and training opportunities in the performing arts. BFA strives to positively affect the image and self esteem of Hispanics, and encourage the inclusion of Hispanic culture in the public school curriculum, and to create a pool of talented, well trained theater artists.   Your support will enable us to continue to bring World Class Theater to Los Angeles and Southern California communities, help us introduce young people to the performing arts and ensure that our wonderful theatre continues to thrive for generations to come. We look forward to seeing you here at Carmen Zapata Theatre, your stage for bilingual productions.

Ole! Tardeada Shines as Dreams Are Made Possible

BFA President Gil Moret opened his heart and his home for the 38^th Annual Ole! Tardeada to celebrate and thank the generous supporters who keep the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts programs going each year. Assisted by the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts staff, the event was catered beautifully by La Parrilla Restaurants, a tequila bar welcomed patrons at the entrance where they could place bids on auction items. Fresh quesadillas complimented the Barefoot Wines assortment of reds, whites and champagne, while Jarritos and Budweiser cold beverages quenched the thirst around the pool in the San Marino afternoon sun.

After dinner, a preview of Don Quixote was followed by Jaime James on keyboard leading into the “El Angel” Awards. Long time BFA supporter and former District 14 Council member Arthur “Art” Snyder was handed his “El Angel” award by Carmen Zapata while Wells Fargo Bank Vice-President Roy Jasso and Department of Cultural Affairs Los Angeles Executive Director Olga Garay were also recognized for their contributions to BFA. Orlando Ortega was also honored with the first ever Don Quixote Award for his work joining the community to the corporations and Karla Ruiz was rewarded for her outstanding volunteer efforts in the community with a $1,000 Scholarship to be used towards furthering her education.

The night ended a success with The Chico Band getting the people on their feet dancing and Gil Moret serenading the night better than any other “Chairman of the Board” could offer. We look forward to a spectacular year on the stage, thanks to the community, the BFA Board of Trustees, BFA Board of Advisors, the Ole Planning Committee and the BFA Staff and Volunteers that make these events entertaining and possible.  Special thanks to the BFA event sponsors and benefactors who gave generously in order to make the dreams of BFA possible.

July 15^th Begins 1^st Festival de Teatro en Accion de Los Angeles

The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts unites East Los Angeles on the stage for the first ever Theater Festival to be held in Lincoln Heights mid-July at the historic Old Jail. This summer, the first Theater Festival ever will be held in the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles and will benefit the communities surrounding East Los Angeles. With a bilingual flavor, there will be six different productions by six theater companies from six regions of Los Angeles. Hosted at the Old Jail off North Broadway and North Avenue 19, the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts will close the Festival with a new reading of “La Salamandra” directed by founder Margarita Galban.      

               Opening the 1^st Annual festival will be the Awareness Theater under the Direction of Pablo Marz as he portrays the typical life of a Latino in Los Angeles. Hugo Quintana directs the Bilingual Foundation actors through a blind date gone awry centered around a park bench in “Cita a Ciegas”. In a tribute to Patronato del Teatro, a translation of the mysterious “Espíritu Burlón” will be performed under the watchful eye of Galban in a collaborative effort between theaters. In “Art”, Manolo Travieso Productions discuss art, psychology and power as the festival peaks and provokes thought among friends who have gathered. “Wild in Wichita” was the grand prize winner this year for the award offered by the MetLife Foundation and Repertorio Espanol since the year 2000. In honor of the memory of author and director C. Bernard Jackson, one of his most beautiful Works, “Piano Bar”, will be presented by Inner City Cultural Center and directed by Hawthorne James to conclude the summer festival.

               Teatro en Acción : Festival de Teatro takes place 15th, 16th, 17th; 22nd, 23rd and 24th of July 2011 at 421 North Avenue 19 in Los Angeles. The event is supported by grants and donations from the NEA, LA County Arts Commission, the Consul of Spain to Los Angeles, the University of Minnesota, Union Bank, Dr. Herbert Miller, PhD. and the Metro. More than a community effort, this festival has international appeal and unites the Hispanic community through artistic, cultural and educational programs that reach for the essence of  la vida in Los Angeles.

La Ultima Aventura de Quixote en el Otoño

This Fall Margarita Galban and Lina Montalvo combine their visions to bring Don Quixote alive in his final adventure based on the original masterpiece from Spain’s Golden Age author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Margarita Galban directs the actors on the stage from the end of September through to the first weekend in November in a story set somewhere in the 16th century of Spain. Mixing in bands of gypsies, soldiers and a love story, the BFA fall work of fiction insures that there will be intrigue, betrayal, a duel and some great fight scenes that ends with a surprise. As a founding work of modern Western literature, and one of the earliest canonical novels, Don Quixote regularly appears high on lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published. In one such list, Don Quixote was cited as the "best literary work ever written". Opening night is Thursday, September 29^th at Carmen Zapata Theater 421 North Avenue 19, Los Angeles, CA 90031. For more information please visit the BFA website at http://www.bfatheatre.org

Press Release

Theater in Action

Festival of Theater

15, 16. 17; 22, 23 and 24

July 2011

The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts unites East Los Angeles on the stage for the first ever Theater Festival to be held in Lincoln Heights mid-July at the historic Old Jail.

Los Angeles, CA, April 19, 2011:  This summer is the first Theater Festival ever to be held in the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles that will benefit the communities surrounding East Los Angeles. With a bilingual flavor, there will be six different productions by six theater companies from six regions of Los Angeles. Hosted at the Old Jail off North Broadway and North Avenue 19, the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts brings their seniority to the event with a new reading of “La Salamandra” directed by founder Margarita Galban.      

               Opening the 1^st Annual festival will be the Awareness Theater under the Direction of Pablo Marz as he portrays the typical life of a Latino in Los Angeles. Hugo Quintana directs the Bilingual Foundation actors through a blind date gone awry centered around a park bench in “Cita a Ciegas”. In a tribute to Patronato del Teatro, a translation of the mysterious “Espíritu Burlón” will be performed under the watchful eye of Galban in a collaborative effort between theaters. In “Art”, Manolo Travieso Productions discuss art, psychology and power as the festival peaks and provokes thought among friends who have gathered. In honor of the memory of author and director C. Bernard Jackson, one of his most beautiful Works, “Piano Bar”, will be presented by Inner City Cultural Center and directed by Hawthorne James to conclude the summer festival.

               Teatro en Acción : Festival de Teatro takes place 15th, 16th, 17th; 22nd, 23rd and 24th of July 2011 at 421 North Avenue 19 in Los Angeles. The event is supported by grants and donations from the NEA, LA County Arts Commission, the Consul of Spain to Los Angeles, the University of Minnesota, Union Bank, Dr. Herbert Miller, PhD. and the Metro. More than a community effort, this festival has international appeal and unites the Hispanic community through artistic, cultural and educational programs that reach for the essence of  la vida in Los Angeles.

Press Release

Theater in Action

Festival of Theater

Breaking News

Winning Play of the MetLife Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition Added as Seventh Play to Cultural Festival

Los Angeles, CA, April 20, 2011:  One day after the initial press release and the Los Angeles Theater is abuzz among Hispanic theater markets from New York to Los Angeles, taking the nation by storm. “Locuras en Wichita” will have its’ World Premier in New York City at Repertorio Espanol on June 7^th, 2011 before heading out west to fill the “La Salamandra” date on the Festival schedule, Friday July 22^nd. “La Salamandra” has been moved to the “Lucky 7” spot to close out the third weekend of the planned Festival slated to benefit the communities of East Los Angeles. “La Salamandra” will run three days from Friday, July 29^th through the 31^st.

               “Wild in Wichita” was the grand prize winner this year for the award offered by the MetLife Foundation and Repertorio Espanol since the year 2000. This lighthearted comedy addresses the issues of aging by truly giving the often-neglected senior citizen a face.  Touching and romantic, this play lovingly highlights two beautiful Latino cultures and at the same time proves that ‘it’s never too late’ to fall in love. Written by Lina Gallegos, this comedy will be performed by the L.A. Diversified Theater Company under the direction of Denise Blasor and be presented in Spanish with English supertitles. A great way to begin the weekend with family.

               Teatro en Acción : Festival de Teatro takes place 15th, 16th, 17th; 22nd, 23rd and 24th of July 2011 at 421 North Avenue 19 in Los Angeles. The event is supported by grants and donations from the NEA, LA County Arts Commission, the Consul of Spain to Los Angeles, the University of Minnesota, Union Bank, Dr. Herbert Miller, PhD. and the Metro. More than a community effort, this festival has international appeal and unites the Hispanic community through artistic, cultural and educational programs that reach for the essence of  la vida in Los Angeles.

La Vida Es Sueno final

La vida es sueño...

La obra de Calderón de la Barca se presenta en el teatro Zapata

• Patricia Prieto |
• 2011-03-27
• | La Opinión

¿Qué es la vida?, Un frenesí. ¿Qué es la vida?, Una ilusión, una sombra, una ficción,y el mayor bien es pequeño; que toda la vida es sueño,
Con este monólogo concluye la obra teatral La vida es sueño (Life is a Dream), que la Fundación Bilingüe de las Artes (BFA) presenta hasta el próximo 3 de abril en el teatro Carmen Zapata.
La pieza del Siglo de Oro, del dramaturgo español Pedro Calderón de la Barca, es una alegoría filosófica acerca de la situación humana y el misterio de la vida.
Centrándose en la vida de Segismundo, príncipe de Polonia, la obra trata el conflicto entre el libre albedrío y el destino.
En la adaptación del BFA, la directora Denise Blasor combinó el argumento clásico de La vida es sueño con los temas contemporáneos de la libertad y la democracia.
"Calderón escribió una obra de teatro donde se plantea las eternas preguntas de quién, qué y por qué tras la forma de pensar y actuar del principe Segismundo", explica. "Y en mi adaptación yo quise mostrar también las de los otros personajes que aparecen en la obra: Rosaura, Astolfo, Basilio, Clarín, Estrella, Clotaldo y los soldados".
Exponiendo las diversas facetas del ser humano —como por ejemplo, el odio, el egoísmo, el orgullo, los celos o el engaño— en los actores de la obra, Blasor busca que la audiencia se haga un análisis interno del porqué "la gente hace lo que hace"
"Deseo que el público se pregunte por qué aceptamos la tortura, la injusta supresión de la libertad, la esclavitud, las matanzas... y por qué después de aceptar estas acciones las justificamos", dice la también actriz puertorriqueña, radicada en Los Ángeles hace tres décadas.
Tras los diálogos de los actores, la directora y productora quiere mostrar también cómo en el viaje de la última instancia de la vida, el ser humano alcanza su crecimiento a través del camino de la fe, el amor, la verdad, la tolerancia, la buena voluntad y el perdón.
A diferencia de la obra original que consta de tres actos, la adaptación de Blasor está compuesta por dos y tiene una duración de casi una hora y media.
La puesta en escena se presenta en español, con subtítulos electrónicos en inglés.
El elenco está integrado por actores bilingües de origen latino. El actor argentino Aníbal Silveyra encarna al rey Basilio y su compatriota Sebastián Miranda a Segismundo. La actriz Laura Millán representa a Rosaura y Rony Vega a Astolfo.

Bringing the Bilingual Theater of the Arts to you over the Internet

Riding the wave into the future, the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts is heading into their 40th year and making the possible dreams become even more possible for those in the Los Angeles communities that support the arts. 

.We now have a presence on Facebook, our own URL, Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia and Yelp!

Donate to our productions either at the BFA website or at our Crowdrise fundraising site.

Welcome to the Bilingual Theatre of the Arts

Carmen Margarita Zapata (born July 15, 1927) is an American actress. Zapata was born in New York City to a Mexican father and an Argentine mother. She has been in over one hundred movies and shows, including Batman: The Animated Series, Married… with Children, Sister Act, and she was Carmen Castillo in Santa Barbara. One of her longest-running roles was on the bilingual children’s program Villa Alegre, where for nine years she played lead character “Doña Luz.”

The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts         

                                                                                

The artistic leadership of BFA is Artistic Director/Project Director Margarita Galban and the managerial leader is Managing Director Lina Montalvo.

Mission

The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts (BFA) is the only full time professional bilingual theater on the West Coast of the United States. BFA’s mission is to serve communities by presenting classic Spanish language drama and contemporary plays, in order to bring awareness of Hispanic culture.  BFA also provides educational resources and training opportunities in the performing arts. BFA strives to positively affect the image and self esteem of Hispanics, and encourage the inclusion of Hispanic culture in the public school curriculum, and to create a pool of talented, well trained theater artists.  BFA serves approximately 180,000 low-income families and individuals, children and adolescents, high school and college students, and senior citizens.

History/Programming

The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, a nonprofit corporation, was founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by Carmen Zapata, Estela Scarlata and Margarita Galban. Ms. Zapata has now retired and is President Emeritus.  Ms. Scarlata retired to pursue personal projects after 30 years of service to BFA. Ms. Galban remains as artistic director and continues to provide leadership and vision to BFA.

Touring Program- Theater in Education – Since 1979, BFA has taken its mainstage productions and specially commissioned plays on local, state wide and in some cases, national and international, tours in schools and theaters. The Touring Program has reached hundreds of thousands of children in Southland school districts.

New Translations – BFA creates, commissions, produces and performs new English translations of major Spanish language plays, thus making available the vast an little known body of Hispanic literature to non-Spanish speaking audiences.

Teatro Leido – Staged readings. BFA presents six staged readings in BFA’s Teatro Carmen Zapata. These works are chosen from nation wide submission of plays that deal with social issues affecting Hispanics in America. This project gives new playwrights and directors the opportunity to practice their craft and receive feed back from a live audience. Post performance discussions are held.

Zarzuela

Since 2004 BFA has included segments of zarzuelas (light opera) into its programming. “Introduction to the Zarzuela” at the Ricardo Montalban Theater was the first venture. “Maria La O” music by Ernesto Lecuona , a full zarzuela was produced at the Alex Theater in Glendale, Ca in 2007, “Las Leandras” at the Los Angeles Theater Center in 2008. This year BFA produced “Zarzuela Under the Stars” at Grand Performances, at the California Plaza on July 9. This Fall BFA will produce the Cuban Zarzuela “Cecilia Valdes” music by Gonzalo Roig at LATC.

Planning and Leadership

BFA has solicited a grant in collaboration with The Boys and Girls Club for the purpose of expanding services to young people.  BFA will provide after school hours classes in Drama, Wardrobe, Dance, and Theater Movement  to  young people 11-to 17 years of age. Classes will be taught by Blanca Araceli Soto and Ana Alfonso. 

BFA plans to continue building on its foundation of professional productions of classic and contemporary plays presented at Teatro Carmen Zapata through programming. BFA’s primary objective is to expose the general public and students to classic and contemporary theater; to provide residents and students with arts enrichment; to foster an appreciation for theater and to offer the public an affordable, live, cultural arts experience.

Core Audience:  BFA serves over 63,000 people annually, more than 40% of whom earn less than $40,000.  Approximately 75% of our audience is Hispanic, 15% is white and 10% are other ethnicities.  More than 50% are students.  Nearly 30% are over age 55; 35% are 25-54; and approximately 35% are 24 or younger.  While BFA’s audience is primarily Spanish-speaking, an equal amount of energy is placed on serving and reaching the English-Speaking community.  BFA continues to expand its audience through community outreach, continually updated marketing strategies, and promotional efforts.  Strong outreach efforts are directed to Southern California’s underserved, low-income individuals and families who are in need of Hispanic culture, arts education and theatrical enrichment.

BFA conducts written and telephone surveys, post-play discussions and focus groups to aid in assessing each program’s effectiveness, to determine which programs should be expanded, which can be improved and whether there is a need to develop new programs.  BFA works in cooperation with teachers and students to help plan its season each year, creating a theater that is truly responsive to the needs and interests of the audience.  The marketing plan for high schools and colleges that regularly attend productions at BFA includes sending teachers and administrators the synopsis, historical information about the story, and a study guide to the play.

Artistic Policy:  BFA solicits and receives an enormous amount of input from the community, students, and teachers when making artistic decisions about season planning and program development.  Additionally, the artistic leadership of BFA puts its mission into action by seeking out the greatest work from the rich history of Spanish language drama, and the most vibrant new plays from the contemporary Hispanic theater world, to produce, translate, revive and introduce to Los Angeles.  BFA values the artistic contributions its artists make to the diverse communities of Los Angeles very highly; therefore, it is BFA’s policy to financially compensate all its artists, including actors, directors, writers, designers, and choreographers.

Proposed Artistic Project:  BFA plans to:  (1) produce and present three educational plays for young audiences in schools and community centers, (2) develop and execute an expanded marketing campaign geared to reach more schools districts, and promote more intercultural exchange.  This promotional campaign includes free demonstration performances at BFA’s Teatro Carmen Zapata.

 Part of BFA’s mission is to provide arts enrichment and education to K-12 students in Southern California.  This is accomplished through BFA’s education programs that tour and that are presented at Teatro Carmen Zapata for school children.  BFA has received DCA support in the past for its educational programs and plays for young people.  These plays are designed to introduce students of all backgrounds to classic theater from the Hispanic world, as well as to foster discussion about issues of importance and interests to a young audience.  BFA’s next Touring Program season begins in the fall of 2011 and continues throughout the academic year until June 2012.  To better control production costs, each play has a dedicated day of the week on which is presented.  The planned plays are as follows:

Eating Your Colors – This is a new educational show for children grades 3-8, tackling the growing problem of childhood obesity, an especially urgent issue among Latino children.  The show promotes healthful eating, encourages physical activity and touches on solutions to problems faced by children today.  This interactive, bilingual program features singing, dancing, and comedy.

Introduction to the Classics – This is a 55-minute compilation of four plays from the Spanish Golden Age  Comedy of Errors.  The scenes were chosen for their diversity, their comedy, their show of sword play, and geared to young audiences to promote a deep comprehension of the works, as well as the idea that the classics can be entertaining and are not feared.  Woven together by narration, the plays featured are The Phantom Lady  (La Dama Duende) by Pedro Calderón de la Barca; Fenisa’s Hook (El Anzuelo de Fenisa) by Lope de Vega;  Misfourtunes of a Household (Los Empeños de una Casa) by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz; and the Suspicious Truth (La Verdad Sospechosa) by Juan Ruiz de Alarcón.

Three Cultures, One Spirit – This show is performed in association with the Tierra Blanca Dance Company.  It showcases the essence and beauty of Mexican Folklore, and the influences that contributed to its development.  The pre-Colombian native influence, the European influence and the African element blend to produce rich dances and rites of passage celebrations.  This show and the musical instruments used are explained to the young audiences.

 BFA has also received DCA support for a number of years to continue to develop and expand its current audience through proven strategies and new marketing techniques.  One of the methods that has been useful in reaching this goal is inviting teachers and other education professionals to our theater (Teatro Carmen Zapata) to see free demonstration performances of our touring shows.  Not only can we reach these educators directly, but they also spread the word for colleagues throughout the Southland.  BFA continues to build its mailing, phone and email lists for director marketing and evaluation purposes, and pursues local Spanish-language television, radio and print coverage and publicity for appropriate projects.

Measuring Achievement:  BFA’s education programs and marketing initiatives are evaluated through demographic questionnaires distributed to audience members, participants, teachers, and students at the time of the performances.  Surveys provide instructive data, which include demographic information (ethnic background, home zip code, age, family income, etc.), and an evaluation of marketing efforts.  An equal emphasis is placed on the quality of the programs for audiences and participants.  Students often write a letter of thanks to express their feelings about their experience.  These letters are another way BFA gauges the educational, artistic, and marketing success – and needs – of its programs.  Direct-contact surveys are conducted to evaluate the program’s effectiveness, to see which areas need improvement, and which successful program components might be expanded.  This is achieved through one-on-one discussions with students, follow-up telephone calls to teachers and focus groups.